


I Have Killed A(n Undead) Man

by workthewentz



Category: Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Anxiety Attacks, Flashbacks, Gore, M/M, Minor Character Death, because of course everyone wants to see tyler and josh battle zombies woo, pretty sure tyler and josh are the only relationship im really gonna discuss so, so yeah i decided to do this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:39:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4337807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/workthewentz/pseuds/workthewentz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph meet as guards at a safecamp in the desert for zombie apocalypse survivors. When the camp gets attacked by zombies, and they're the only ones left, they have to run. They take a truck and battle zombies on their way to the next camp, where they meet new friends, train for a war, and fall in love.</p><p>AKA the Zombie Apocalypse!AU that no one asked for, but everyone needs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 00 :: Teaser

**Author's Note:**

> New fic! Zombie apocalypse w/ plot! Woo!  
> Neither Tyler nor Josh will die, but the zombie killing might get pretty graphic so if you're triggered by gore please don't read this.  
> Also, the zombies are WWZ style zombies, so they're fast. Watch out for that.  
> I'm also making it up as I go along, so any weird timeline things or plot holes are unintentional and I'd be honored if you'd point them out. This is unbetaed.  
> I don't own anything but the plot, hopefully this story is fictional, all that great stuff...

Josh turned the cold metal over again and again in his hands. Each time his finger grazed the trigger, he felt a sense of pride swell in him. He was holding a deadly weapon. He could kill someone. He had that power.

“You know, you don’t have to become a guard,” a voice spoke from the other side of the room. Josh looked up, frowning. He thought everyone had already had their exams.

“Why wouldn’t I?” He asked the guy standing against the wall. The light glinted off the dog tag around his neck as the guy moved, coming to sit on the bench across from Josh. He raised his eyebrows and his lips morphed into a smirk.

“I dunno. It’s hard.”

Josh scoffed. “I think I can handle it.”

The guy scoffed right back at Josh. “What makes you so sure?”

“Well, let’s see. I’m confident,” Josh began, ticking the reasons off on his fingers. “I can shoot, I’m not a pansy. I think I’ll be alright.”

“Glad you think so.” The guy extended his hand between them, and Josh shook it. “Firm grip,” he commented. “I’m Tyler. I’ll be administering your exam.”


	2. 01 :: Emergency Exit.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh doesn't even get to become a real guard before the first attack. We find out a tidbit about Josh's past. And Tyler has no qualms about stealing supplies from dead people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! Here's the first real chapter of this thing. I'm real excited, I've always wanted to write a zombie apocalypse AU but never really had the right characters.  
> Warnings for gore in this chapter and throughout the story, as they are fighting the undead. So if you don't like gore, this is definitely not the story for you. Josh also has frequent flashbacks and anxiety attacks. Tyler might as well.  
> I hope you like it!

"Higher!"

"Faster!"

"Smoother!"

Tyler shouted commands at Josh as he went through the practice range with ease. Josh gritted his teeth. He knew he was doing a good job, but Tyler never seemed to be pleased.

When Josh finished off the last of the practice dummies, he turned to Tyler. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Tyler asked innocently.

"You know what," Josh spat. Tyler only blinked. "You, shouting at me! You distracted me!"

Tyler rolled his eyes as he began walking to the next section of the exam room. "I was keeping you on your toes. If you can't handle that, how are you going to handle real battle? Zombies coming at you from every angle? The screams of your coworkers dying? Man up, Joshua." Josh was left staring with wide eyes at his back as he walked away.

 

There was an attack drill that night. Josh, as a training guard, was posted outside the town hall building. He stood with his gun loaded, leaning against the side of the building as he watched guards run past, simulating battle or attempting to reach their stations.

"Hey, redhead." Tyler appeared suddenly next to Josh, whispering in his ear. He jumped, startled, and Tyler laughed.

"Hello," Josh nodded. Tyler was so close that Josh could feel Tyler's breath on his cheek.

"How's the post going?" _What the hell Tyler._

"I-um-it's going okay, I guess." Josh swore that he must be as red as a fire hydrant right then, and he was eternally grateful to the powers that be that it was nighttime. "Would you like, um-"

"Would I what?" Josh was going to punch Tyler in his face. Or maybe not, considering that the guy was one of the head guards and definitely could beat him to a pulp. Yeah. Josh was definitely not going to punch Tyler in his face. Instead he was nicely going to ask him to-

"Back up, maybe?" _Oh yeah, so eloquent Josh._

"Oh okay. Of course." Tyler took a step back, not much, but he was out of Josh's personal space and Josh could think.

"So um," Josh began without looking at Tyler. "Where's your post?"

"Here."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They stood in silence for a while and Josh looked over at Tyler. There were no real uniforms for guards, due to the lack of resources, but it was an unspoken rule that they dressed in black. Tonight Tyler was in a black tank top with arm holes that dipped down to his stomach, and a pair of black jeans. He looked really good in both. Josh was wondering to himself why he was even noticing what Tyler wore, when the alarm went off.

Josh looked at Tyler with wide eyes while Tyler only furrowed his eyebrows. “They don’t ring the alarm during practice drills.” That was when they noticed a slight buzzing noise, like the hum of a billion insects, just behind their ears.

Josh gulped before looking around, trying to find out where the sound was coming from. He heard the buzzing mostly towards the north, where the front gates of the camp were. “They’re here, aren’t they.” It was more of a statement than a question directed at Tyler, but it didn’t matter. Tyler nodded his head and began barking commands at Josh.

“Stay by the door.” Josh immediately straightened up, moving to position himself directly in front of the town hall doors. “Shoot when they come at you; don’t go to them and leave your back exposed. Head shots are the most effective.” Josh nodded. “And for God’s sake, Josh, loosen up. You have great reflexes, and they won’t touch you.” Tyler began walking away, and Josh panicked as Tyler ran down the stairs.

“Where are you _going_?”

Tyler only smirked. “I don’t have a gun, Josh. Don’t worry. Even if they manage to get past the gates, I’ll be back before they get all the way here.” He began jogging across the wide street towards the armory, and Josh watched him go, scared out of his mind.

 

Josh had only been in the camp a short while, a couple months at most, but he was already extremely familiar with everyone there. It was one of the smaller camps, a desert one, so not many people wanted to live there. Josh had been in Los Angeles at the time of the attacks and he didn’t have the money to get to another place, so he decided to stay in the Arizona camp after his family died. His mom had been the last to go. She had fought the hardest out of all of them to protect her children, but one of those things eventually got her in the shoulder. Josh was heartbroken, but he remembered the promise he had made to her as he watched himself shoot what had once been his mother and run off.

 

Josh lost focus, zoning out as Tyler sprinted across the street towards the building, gun and a box of something cradled in one arm, waving his free arm and shouting. Tyler reached the base of the steps, and Josh realized what he was shouting about. A group of zombies, maybe about twenty, barrelled down the street to the left. Josh’s vision turned to slow motion as he registered them. In front of the group, two guards who had obviously been bitten. Mostly women, he noticed. He raised his gun and poised himself to shoot at them, because they were dangerously close to getting at Tyler, who clambered up the steps towards Josh and began shooting as well. Josh’s hands shook as he fired the gun, mostly wounding the zombies so that Tyler could finish them off, with surprisingly nonviolent deaths.

Once the last of the zombies were down, Josh allowed himself to survey the scene. There were bodies everywhere, and if Josh looked down the street he could see blood on the ground in front of homes and buildings. There was a flash of blond hair and then a gunshot as someone plucked off a zombie. Josh told himself that he was in the present, that his mom wasn’t dying again, but his vision blurred and he recoiled anyway. The gun in his hands dropped to the ground. Tyler looked over at him breathlessly. “Josh, are you okay?” Josh shook his head, his eyes watering as he screwed them shut. He backed into the side of the building.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He sobbed and covered his ears with his hands as he sunk down to curl up against the wall.

“Josh!” Tyler screamed, the sound muffled by Josh’s hands, and suddenly he was being shoved aside. He opened his eyes and his mouth to protest, the flashback fading as his ears rung, but he noticed Tyler on the ground, struggling to hold back a zombie attempting to get at him, his wrists and arms exposed, with only Josh’s gun in between Tyler’s face and the zombie’s. The thing’s jaw opened and closed wildly, spewing blood as Tyler shouted, kicking at it, but it wouldn’t stop.

Without thinking, Josh slammed his body into the zombie's side, stunning it and allowing Tyler time to aim his gun and shoot it.

Josh immediately crawled to Tyler's side, shouting and shaking and picking up random body parts of Tyler's to make sure he was okay.

"Tyler, oh my god are you alright? I'm so sorry, I don't know what that was! Why did you do that? Oh my god I swear if that thing had hurt you too-"

"Too?"

“Hurt you. Just, hurt you,” Josh mumbled. He took Tyler’s chin in between his fingers and looked at Tyler’s face, the small cut across his cheekbone and a bit of blood from where the zombie had gnawed at the barrel of his gun smeared across his chin.

“We should probably radio in,” Tyler said quietly, softly pulling away from Josh’s face. He pulled a radio from the box he had carried over, changing the frequency until it was clear of static. “Joseph to Urie, respond.” No one answered. “Joseph to command.” Silence.

“Maybe we should go investigate.”

Tyler’s voice only escalated as he turned the dial frantically, trying to find the correct frequency. “Joseph to command. Joseph to any survivors! Anyone!” He placed his head in his shaking hands, dropping the radio into Josh’s lap.

Josh watched Tyler for a few moments, just noticing him. The curve of Tyler’s spine as he hunched forwards, the frizz of his hair that needed cutting. Then Tyler suddenly shot up.

“If no one’s left and it’s just us, then we need to get out of here.” He grabbed the cardboard box that had been thrown to the side and opened the flap, rifling through it. “There’s water in here, but only enough for tonight. We’ll need to get more. Here’s your radio.” He placed an extra radio in Josh’s hands, making sure it was tuned to the same frequency as his own before letting go. He reached into the box and pulled out a key, labeled _Master_. “Let’s go.”

Josh clambered to his feet, hooking the water pouches to his belt loops before going after Tyler. “Where are we going?”

“Command. If there’s anyone left, they’ll be there.”

 

Tyler and Josh made their way to the command building, which was actually just an old police station, through the residential streets, passing broken homes on the way there. There were no mangled bodies in the streets, which Josh was thankful for. He didn’t think he could handle it after his last flashback.

They reached the building and Tyler pulled open the door handle. Immediately there was a foul smell wafting throughout the entire place, and both men had to pull their shirts up over their noses to keep from gagging at it. Tyler stepped inside and instantly almost fell into a deep crater that spanned the entire middle of the room. The hole was filled with badly burnt bodies, some just parts, and Josh guessed that someone must have set off a grenade to keep any of the zombies from escaping.

Tyler gagged, looking into the hole, and Josh pulled him back by his arm. “Don’t look at that,” he commanded. “We have to keep moving.”

Tyler nodded, pulling the strange key from his pocket and walking towards the back of the building. Blood stained the hallway floors and walls. Josh kept his eyes on Tyler as he unlocked a door marked _Emergency Exit_. “That was my boss back there.” Josh didn’t answer.

Instead of leading outside like Josh assumed, the door opened onto a set of stairs that led down into darkness. Tyler didn’t hesitate to begin walking down. “Close the door behind you,” he told Josh. Josh shrugged, wondering what other choice he had, and followed.

When Josh reached the foot of the stairs, a light flickered on overhead and his jaw dropped. The gigantic room was a garage of sorts. Four armored trucks and a fifth space for a missing one decorated the metal floor. Emergency medical packs and enough food and water lined the walls to feed a small army for months. The camp had all this and they just left the residents to their own devices?

“One group made it out. That’s good,” Tyler observed, referring to the missing truck. He picked up two jugs of water and threw them into the open back doors of one of the smaller trucks. “Help me with this, would you?”

“Tyler, what are we doing here?” Josh was rooted in his spot.

“We’re going on a road trip.”

 

 


	3. 02 :: We're Fine.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh shoots. Tyler drives. They reach Portland, and maybe fall in love a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the fastest I've ever updated anything in my life.  
> More zombie fights, a bit more detailed this time, so as with every chapter, warning for gore.

Josh rolled down the window, receiving a glare from Tyler. The windows were tinted, and Josh thought he probably wouldn’t get another chance to experience the desert again, so he ignored Tyler and stuck his head out. He breathed in the air, thankfully smelling only sand and dryness now that they had gotten far enough away from the camp’s smoky air.

“Josh,” Tyler groaned as he drove. “You’re supposed to be keeping watch, not sightseeing.” Josh sighed and ducked his head back into the truck.

“There’s nothing to keep watch for. No one would be out here, it’s too far into the desert. Where are we, anyway?”

“You’re the navigator, Josh. How am I supposed to know?” Tyler glanced at the clock. “Fifteen minutes until sundown. You want me to take the first watch?”

“No way,” Josh said. “You’ve been driving all day. You need sleep.” Tyler just pulled off of the paved road and drove over the red dirt hills, trying to find a cluster of bushes or cacti to park in for cover.

Once the truck was parked and the stakes had been attached to the ground to keep it in place, Josh unbuckled and climbed in the back to find food for dinner.

He held up cans of food while Tyler watched him. “Peanut butter, soup, tuna… What I would do for Taco Bell right now, man.” He tossed Tyler a can of tuna and grabbed himself a pouch of water as he sat against the back of his seat.

“Maybe one day, when this is all over, there will actually be fast food again,” Tyler chuckled, and moved to sit beside him.

Josh surveyed their supply; they had taken enough to not ever be hungry on their drive, cans upon cans of nonperishable food. There was pasta too, and other things that had to be cooked, but they both agreed that they would do their best to stay inside the confines of the truck and not make a fire to avoid being spotted.

Tyler quickly finished eating and rolled out his sleeping bag, pulling off his shirt. “Wake me up at twelve, okay?” Josh just waved his hand around. Tyler rolled his eyes and wriggled in, closing his eyes and turning to face Josh.

Tyler was so much more peaceful in his sleep than during the day. His lips were pressed together softly, the hint of a smile on them. His tanned bare shoulders that dipped down into his sharp collarbones peeked out from the top of the sleeping bag. He curled up in a ball, conserving his body heat. Josh felt the urge to curl around him to keep him warm, and pulled his gun out of the box underneath the seat instead, settling in to watch Tyler for the next five hours.

Tyler’s eyes snapped open to the sound of a voice coming over the radio. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head, looking around for his shirt.

“Be on the lookout for what we call ‘zombie camps,’ because they tend to travel in packs. Research has shown that they respond to noise, so if you can stay quiet, it’s more likely they’ll avoid your camp. Stay safe and alert.” Tyler climbed into the passenger seat of the truck, next to Josh who flicked off the radio and turned to face him.

“Did you sleep well?” Josh asked.

“Well enough. What was that?” Tyler gestured to the radio.

“Radio announcement from whatever government officials are left. And from the sound of it, there aren’t many.” Josh looked choked up, like he was about to start crying, so Tyler wrapped an arm around him. Josh leaned slightly into his shoulder, hanging his head. “There were camps in all the capitals, but now there are only about ten spread across the country. The closest one to here is Portland,” he said quietly.

“Oregon?” Tyler screeched. Josh’s shoulders slumped further, if that was even possible, so Tyler rubbed small circles into his back. “Don’t worry, we’ll get there. It’s a little further than Denver but we’ll get there.” Josh just nodded. Tyler glanced at the clock.

“You were supposed to wake me up at twelve.” The clock read one thirty.

“You looked tired, so I just let you sleep.”

“Okay, thanks.” Josh gave Tyler a small sleepy smile, and Tyler’s stomach flipped. He didn’t bother rolling out his own sleeping bag and instead climbed into Tyler’s. It smelled like him. Josh took a deep breath in, eyes fluttering shut as he finally got to sleep.

The farther away from the desert Josh and Tyler got, the more they had to double back. Bigger cities meant more noise and more zombies, which meant more bodies. Most highways were barricaded or completely destroyed, and Josh thanked whoever was above that the truck could handle hills and forests.

The dynamic between the two also changed drastically. They depended on each other a lot more, not only for protection but for small things, like making sure the other slept enough and ate enough and smiled enough.

Tyler hopped out of the driver’s side, a gigantic gas can in tow. Josh slid out on his side, leaves crunching under his feet, holding one of their guns. “Please stay in the truck,” Tyler sighed as Josh came to stand next to him.

“Not a chance. We’re in the middle of the forest. I’m not going to let you stand out here by yourself.” Tyler huffed, but began filling up the gas tank anyway, with Josh leaned against the side of the truck.

Suddenly Josh stood up straight, looking around urgently. “What’s wrong?” Tyler asked worriedly.

“The buzzing. It’s-” Suddenly there was a zombie running towards them in the clearing. “Get in the truck and start it!” Josh yelled, and plucked the thing off with a perfect head shot. Tyler capped the tank as quickly as possible and sprinted around to the driver’s side, jumping into the seat and turning the ignition. The truck roared to life and Tyler screamed Josh’s name through the open passenger window. There were immediately zombies coming at them from all sides, and Josh got into the truck, face flushed and eyes wide. “Go. Go!”

Tyler gunned it, racing through the clearing back towards the main road. Josh leaned out of the passenger side with his gun, trying to take out at least part of the crowd of zombies barrelling after them. But there were too many, and every time Josh would hit one, another would just speed up to take its place. Josh rolled up his window to concentrate on keeping Tyler focused, because if he wasn’t they were going to hit a tree or get eaten or something.

Finally Tyler reached the main road, and Josh let out a breath of air. Here they could speed off and he could shoot the zombies without the cover of the trees blocking his view. He leaned out of the window again, Tyler shooting him worried glances. He managed to pluck off quite a few of them, but the last one was determined, running in a zigzag pattern. “It’s like it knows that I’m trying to kill it!” Josh shouted at Tyler over the roaring engine.

“Josh, we’ve got a problem!” Josh looked ahead of them and, sure enough, a damn barricade. “I have to brake!”

“Are you sure?” The thing was still following them and Tyler was starting to slow down. Josh got back into the car and rolled his window up just as the zombie threw itself at him. He hoped that it would shake itself off, but it caught its arm - or, what had been its arm and was now a mangled set of bones - in the side view mirror and continued bashing its mouth into the window, smearing blood and dirt on the glass. Finally, the thing’s arm shook loose and it was flung in front of the car. Tyler acted quickly, hitting the gas, and rolled over the zombie’s body with an audible crunch, then threw the gear into reverse and backed over it. He kept driving, while Josh panted in the passenger seat, until he found a cluster of trees that would hide the truck from view.

“Oh my god,” Josh heaved. “Oh my god.”

“I know.”

“Oh my god.” Josh threw himself at Tyler and put his arms tightly around his waist, his shoulders shaking, and Tyler hugged him back just as securely.

“Hey, it’s over.” Tyler kissed the top of Josh’s forehead, hoping he wouldn’t think too much of it. “It’s over. It's fine. We’re fine.”

They decided to stop and let themselves take a break to sleep. Tyler assured Josh that he would be fine taking the first watch, because he wanted Josh to get some rest after that emotionally taxing fight earlier.

Tyler settled down into a seated position to let Josh sleep, but he heard Josh call his name from the back in his sleeping bag.

“Tyler?”

“Yeah, Josh?” Tyler climbed into the back to see Josh burrowed into Tyler’s sleeping bag. It warmed him on the inside and made him smile.

“Will you sleep with me? I’m sure nothing else is gonna come tonight. I just-” Josh cut himself off, looking up at Tyler.

“Yeah, of course.” Josh unzipped Tyler’s sleeping bag, allowing him to squeeze in.

Right before Josh fell asleep, Tyler pressed a kiss to his lips, feeling Josh kiss him back softly. "We're fine," he whispered into the dark.

Right outside of Portland was a maximum security prison. This, surprisingly, was the Portland camp. It made sense though. Chain-link twenty foot fences that could be electrically charged, a building without windows that could be put on lockdown, rooms and beds for everyone, a working kitchen and large gymnasium. The prison was perfect.

Unless you were trying to get _in_.

"I keep telling you, our camp in Phoenix was destroyed. We have nowhere else to go!" Tyler argued to the guy at the desk, who was apparently responsible for counting everyone who resided at the camp. Josh had no idea why they even needed a count if they weren't going to let anyone else in.

"And I keep telling you, we've reached maximum capacity," the guy said in a monotone voice.

"That's funny, because I talked to the guy at the guard station and he said that you were barely full!" Tyler yelled. Josh placed a hand on Tyler's arm, trying to calm him down.

A short young woman with fading orange hair came around the corner and walked directly to the desk.

"Hi, I'm Hayley. I'm - well, we like to jokingly use the word president, but really I'm just the one in charge." She shook Tyler and Josh's hands. "Ignore Brendon," she said, gesturing to the guy at the desk. "He's an asshole. Follow me."

She led Tyler and Josh down various hallways, passing happy looking families and somber looking guards patrolling the halls, until they reached two adjacent cells. "So here are your rooms. If you're hungry, dinner's at five."

Tyler spoke up. "Um, maybe we could share a room?" Hayley looked at the two of them again, noticing how close they were standing and how Tyler seemed to gravitate towards Josh, and grinned. Josh's face turned bright red.

"Sure. You can pick one, then."

"Thanks,"Josh said. "And, um, we came with a truck and a lot of supplies and weapons."

"Well we aren't going to make you give anything up, but we could really use the supplies, if you're in the mood to donate."

Josh looked over at Tyler, who nodded. "We'll give you most of it."

Hayley smiled. "Thanks guys." The walkie talkie attached to her hip started making muffled sounds, and she waved at Tyler and Josh, still smiling as she walked away.

Josh opened the door to the room and smiled pleasantly. "This is bigger than my room at the last camp," he told Tyler. The room seemed much bigger than the jail cells Josh had seen on TV, and contained a double bed, a nightstand, and a small cabinet.

"What side do you want?" Tyler wiggled out of his shirt and jeans to change into something cleaner.

“Either one’s fine with me.” Josh opened the cabinet to put his backpack inside, freezing when he came across a brown leather-bound book. “I wonder what this is.”

He picked up the book, and raised his eyebrows at the cross on the cover. “What?” Tyler asked. He came over and took the book from Josh, thumbing through it. “Oh. An NIV Bible. Cool.”

“You believe in that stuff?” Josh looked apprehensive.

Tyler shook his head. “Not all the crazy rules and smiting, but the very core beliefs are really important to me. You don’t?”

“I did.” Josh said simply, sitting down on the bed next to Tyler and leaning his head on his shoulder.

“What happened?”

“I had to shoot my own mother.” Josh sat up to look at Tyler, his eyes tearing up, but more from anger than sadness. “What kind of God would let things like that happen, you know? If He really cares about us as much as He says He does.”

Tyler kissed Josh softly, just to let him know he understood. “I think about that a lot too. But-”

“We should go and eat. I know you want something that isn’t canned fish.” Tyler sighed, but let Josh pull away from him and grab his walkie-talkie, hooking it to his belt loop. He’d talk about it more when he was ready.

Josh and Tyler were the first ones to the dining hall save Hayley, who seemed busy, and a couple of guards that didn’t look very friendly. They sat next to each other at an empty table, sitting down their trays of what seemed like a substitute for Thanksgiving dinner. Josh had no idea if it was actually Thanksgiving or not, but it didn’t really matter. The only thing he had to give thanks for was sitting next to him.

They ate for a few minutes before a soft voice interrupted them. “Hey, haven’t seen you guys around here before!” Josh looked up and his eyes widened at the contrast of the voice to the person. A fit man with a long, scruffy beard and an abundance of tattoos stood at their table with his tray of food carnage - mashed potatoes and something that looked mysteriously un-meat like. He sat down across from them and noticed Josh staring at his plate. “Oh, I’m a vegan,” he grinned.

A passing guy with blond hair, brown showing at his roots, sat down next to tattoo guy. “A vegan, a straight edge, and a Crossfitter walk into a bar. How do you know? Because they all tell you within the first thirty seconds of meeting you. Oh, and the straight edge ordered water.”

“Hey, Crossfit is functional. Didn’t I tell you all there would be an apocalypse?” Tyler and Josh looked at each other, trying not to laugh. Josh shoveled a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. “I didn’t expect the fucking zombies, but we’re still alive, aren’t we? So shut up, Wentz.”

“Hello,” Tyler said around a smirk. Two two men jumped, seemingly forgetting that Tyler and Josh were there.

“Hey,” blond guy said. “I’m Pete.”

Tattoo guy spoke up next. “And I’m Andy. Vegan, straight edge, Crossfitter.” He stuck his tongue out at blond guy - Pete - and Tyler and Josh both laughed.

Tyler and Josh introduced themselves and Tyler informed the two guys that they were from the Phoenix camp. Andy and Pete looked impressed. “Phoenix, wow. And you guys made it all the way here?”

“Not without a couple scrapes,” Josh said. “We mostly came for the food. If I have to eat another can of tuna I’m going to go insane.”

Everyone laughed. “We’re actually in a band,” enthused Pete. “We were on tour here when the whole thing happened. Our singer and guitarist are around here somewhere. We should find them. Have fun, guys.”

Josh pulled off his shirt and jeans, leaving him in only his boxers, before climbing under the covers. Tyler crawled in behind him, pressing close and wrapping an arm around his waist. He kissed the back of his neck and Josh relaxed into his touch.

“How are you?” Tyler asked. Josh sighed, turning over in Tyler’s arms so that he was facing him.

“How are _you_?”

“I’m alright. I’ll be better once all this is over and I don’t have to be on high alert all the time.”

Josh kissed the tip of Tyler’s nose, then pecked his lips. “You don’t have to be on high alert tonight. We’re as safe as we’re going to get right now.” Tyler opened his mouth to argue but Josh cut him off. “Don’t argue. Sleep.” For once, Tyler listened and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off.

****  
  



	4. 03 :: Untitled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter's really short, but I've figured out that I'll update faster if I write shorter chapters, so here goes :) 
> 
> This one's kind of a filler, so no gore here!

"Bye guys! See you at breakfast!"

Tyler picked up the cups scattered around their room and put them in a tray to be taken down to the kitchen, and Josh decided to walk Pete back to the room that he shared with Joe. Joe was nice. He hung off of Pete a little bit too much, but Pete never seemed to mind. Besides, Josh couldn’t say anything. He and Tyler had been inseparable since they arrived.

Josh stopped outside of Pete’s door and watched him unlock it. “So when did you and Tyler get together, anyway?” He asked.

Josh stared at his shoes. “I don’t really know,” he said. “On the way here, things just suddenly got intense.”

Pete nodded. “It was the same way with Patrick and Andy,” he said. “Patrick’s not the best at protecting himself. When Andy saved him, he started clinging to him like a second skin. It seemed a bit unhealthy, but we could all die any moment. I think love is the only thing that's gonna keep us all sane right now."

 

"So um, I think we should talk about this," Josh said as Tyler pulled back the covers of their bed. Tyler shimmied out of his clothes until he was just in his boxers.

"Talk about what?" Tyler climbed into bed, and instead of sliding in beside him, Josh took off his shirt and sat on the edge of his side.

"This. Us. Whatever we are." Tyler frowned and Josh crawled over to the other side of the bed, taking Tyler's hand. "No, no, not that I don't love - this, I just don't wanna be mistaken about what's going on."

"You mean a lot to me," Tyler said quietly.

"And you mean a lot to me." Tyler leaned over to kiss Josh, looping his arms around his neck and tangling his fingers in the now-fading red hair. Josh dug his fingers into the space around Tyler's hipbones, massaging gently with his thumbs. Tyler moaned, allowing Josh to lick his way into Tyler's mouth and bite softly at his tongue.

"I want - you - to be mine," Josh said in between kisses. He nudged at Tyler's shoulders, and Tyler laid back on the bed, pulling Josh down with him. "I want to be able to talk to you, and love you, and protect you." Josh ducked his head, kissing at Tyler's neck.

Tyler whined, nodding his head, and then turning it to the side so Josh could nibble at his earlobe. "Yeah, I want to be yours," he sighed, trying to rock against Josh's hip. "I need you, in more ways than one."

"Okay," Josh said, straddling one of Tyler's legs and grinding down onto him. The friction made them both cry out, and Josh trailed his hand down from Tyler's chest to snake into his boxers. There was a knock at the door, and they both froze. Josh scrambled to find a towel to wrap around his waist, hoping it would hide the obvious tent in his boxers, while Tyler sat up in the bed and gathered the blankets around his waist.

Josh opened the door, sighing with relief when he saw that it was Brendon.

"Hey man, what's up?"

Brendon looked behind Josh at Tyler's disheveled hair and reddened face and smirked. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nope, not at all."

"Okay," Brendon said around a laugh. "Anyway, Andy sent me. He wants to know if you guys would like to start training."

"Training?" Tyler asked, immediately interested.

"Yeah. Combat, shooting, we've got a whole range and training room to ourselves. Perks of living in a prison."

"Yeah sure!" Josh said. "When do we start?"

"Well I would say tonight, but I don't think either of you wanna leave the room right this moment." Brendon's eyes flickered down to Josh's towel, and he was openly laughing now. "Meet us in the gym in an hour?"

Josh's face turned red. "Okay." He shut the door and turned to face Tyler.

"I never understood how literal the phrase 'caught with your pants down' could be."

"Shut up and jerk me off," Josh groaned.

"Pushy, pushy."

 

Tyler and Josh walked into the gymnasium. It was a rectangular room, with weight equipment at one end. It wasn't huge, but it had enough room for laps and combat. Andy was standing in the very center of the rectangle, with something in his hands that looked suspiciously like a pair of handcuffs.

He grinned when they came near him. "Hey, you guys are here!"

"Yeah, we're here," Tyler said, eyeing the glinting silver handcuffs. 

"Now we just need Brendon and Pete and then we can get started."

"If you don't mind me asking," Josh began. "What are the handcuffs for?"

"Oh!" Andy looked down at the object in his hands, seeming to just now remember that he had them, which was pretty disconcerting. "We're doing partner training! I know that all of us have had regular training, and rehashing that would be really pointless."

Brendon and Pete appeared, laughing as they joined the rest of the group. "And then from outside the door I heard 'shut up and jerk me off' and I lost it." Josh's face heated up as he realized that Brendon was telling Pete about Tyler and Josh's moment earlier. He shook his head, focusing on Andy.

"Okay so, since we're all here we're going to jump right in," Andy said. He produced a second pair of handcuffs from his back pocket, gesturing for Pete and Brendon to come towards him. He handcuffed their wrists together. Pete just looked at him blankly. "The most important part of the battle is keeping yourselves - and each other - alive and unbitten."

When Pete continued to look confused, Andy finally gave in. "You guys are going to go through half the combat dummies like this." 

Pete protested. "How am I supposed to shoot - and fight - with just one hand?" 

"I'm pretty sure you'll find a way. Now, shoo!" Andy pushed the two of them off towards the practice range, and gestured for Tyler and Josh to follow him over to the weight training area. He handcuffed them together as well. "I want the two of you to find a way to use each of these machines while distributing the weight equally between the two of you."

Tyler just stared at Andy. "Were you in the Marines or something?"

"Nope," Andy smirked. "I just really like Crossfit." He then went to go and check on Pete and Brendon, who had begun yelling at each other, and left Tyler and Josh to their own devices. 

Josh shook his head. "He's crazy." 

"Well we have to at least try."

 

Exhausted and sore, Tyler and Josh flopped down into bed later that night, neither of them even bothering to take off their sweaty clothes. 

"That was a bitch," Josh complained. Tyler just nodded, too tired to even speak. 

"Wanna take a shower?" Tyler asked. 

"Together?"

"Why not? We have our own bathroom. I'll wash your hair."

"Alright," Josh agreed. He grabbed two towels off the rack beside the bed and stood up, gesturing for Tyler to come along.

"In a minute," Tyler groaned. "I don't have the ability to move yet."

Josh giggled. "Okay, just come in when you're ready." He pulled off his shirt and gym shorts, ditching them on the floor, and stretched, the muscles in his back flexing as he groaned. He winked at Tyler over his shoulder and stepped into the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments fuel and motivate! Just sayin' ;)


	5. 04 :: Make It Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! so according to the dates on this thing, it's been over a year? doesn't feel like it, but i'm back and better than ever! i'm just kidding. i'm worse. my crops are dying, my children are starving, kimye is feuding with taylor swift, everything's bad. all we need now is zombies.
> 
> sorry that this is a filler, but i really wanted to get something out! promise the next chapter will be better plot-wise.

"I'm. So. Bored," Tyler said, flopping down onto his and Josh's bed at the end of _another_ long day of nothing.

"We're alive. Don't jinx us." Josh eyed the roots of his hair in the bathroom mirror, extremely upset about the red, which had faded into pink, and was now fading into dark blonde. The one thing Josh never wanted to be was a blonde. 

"But Josh, this isn't living!" Tyler stood up again, pacing to deliver his speech. "We're cut off from the outside world. There's no television, no music to listen to that isn't Fall Out Boy jamming in the gym when they get bored, I've read all the books anyone bothered to grab, I just feel static."

Josh just sighed. "I know, but this is what we've got right now. At least we aren't covered in blood half the time. You said a few weeks ago that you hated being on high alert. Well now you don't have to be."

"I didn't mean that I wanted to be on zero alert." Tyler flopped back down onto the bed. "And Hayley's hair is still bright orange, just see if she has dye."

"You can help me dye it when I get back! There's something to do."

Tyler groaned as Josh pulled open the door to their room and bounded down the hall in search of Hayley. 

 

"This is my own stuff," the fire-headed girl said to Josh as she handed him a box of blue dye. "Dye it a couple times, it should stay for the year."

Josh was so excited he almost hugged Hayley. "Thanks!" 

Suddenly there was a loud rumbling sound, and all at once the insistent buzzing. Josh glanced at Hayley, who stared back at him with eyes wide. "How did they get in?" She asked.

"That's not important right now." Josh dropped the box and threw his weight onto her door, shoving it closed as quickly as possible. "Please tell me you have a weapons stash in here."

Without a word, Hayley reached underneath her bed and grabbed two rifles, as well as a handgun, which she handed to Josh. "Good thing they didn't pass that gun control bill before everything went bad, huh?"

"Where are they?" Hayley didn't need to answer; the door rattled with the force of a zombie throwing its body against the metal. 

She put her finger to her lips and gestured towards the vent in the corner of her room. As quietly as possible, Josh crept to the vent and removed the covering. He slid in first, gesturing for Hayley to follow. 

"What's the fastest way to my wing?" Josh whisper-asked, as soon as they were far enough away from the room. 

"Your wing? We need to get to the security room! That's the emergency protocol." 

"I need to get Tyler," Josh insisted. 

Hayley stopped crawling. "Look, you're not going to be able to save him with a hoard of zombies on your tail. Let's get to the security room; he might already be there, Josh."

Josh just ran a hand through his hair, best he could in the small space, and crawled through the vent after Hayley.

They finally arrived in the security room and were checked for bites by the guards. Josh glanced over the room quickly. Most of the camp had made it, save for a couple of potheads who were bound to be turned eventually anyway. But there was one thing he noticed instantly: Tyler was missing. Josh immediately ran up to Andy, whose room had been in a wing close to theirs. Andy stood at a computer, flipping through different surveillance feeds of the camp. Few of them showed zombies, but there were enough to make Josh sick.

"Andy. Have you seen Tyler?" Andy shook his head gravely, then pressed a button so Josh could see the footage of their wing. Josh nearly fainted. The hallway was bloodstained, a trail of mangled body parts leading from the wing's entrance to the gaping hole in the reinforced wall. Josh and Tyler's door, though, was untouched. The footage was completely quiet, until Andy flipped a switch and turned on the audio. The faint sound of someone speaking could be heard down the hall. 

"Andy." The tattooed man nodded, pressing a key on the keyboard, and the speaking suddenly became louder.

"Goddamn it, Josh! Answer me! We're supposed to keep these things on us at all times! Change your frequency! Something!" Tyler screeched helplessly, muffled behind the door. Josh widened his eyes as he realized he had forgotten his walkie in Hayley's room. 

"Is there any way to let him know we can hear him? We have to get to him." Josh demanded. 

Hayley shook her head. "There's the PA system..." Andy began, but trailed off when Hayley glared daggers at him. "Or not. PA system's a bad idea." 

"Of course it's a bad idea! These things are attracted to sound. The PA system broadcasts sound all over the building. That is the exact _opposite_ of what we want."

"The holding cells," one of the guards behind Hayley said. "We draw them into the holding cells, lock them down. Then we can either kill all of them or quietly retrieve everyone and come back here." Josh shot a grateful glance towards the guard, and watched Hayley while she mulled it over. 

Finally she nodded. "Do it. I'm not sure how we'll recover after this, but we can't leave anyone behind." She selected a few guards plus Andy, to go with Josh to get Tyler. 

"Thanks for everything, Hayley," Josh said right before Hayley flipped the switch on the holding cell intercom. 

"Hello, boys and girls," she said into the microphone. "Or what used to be boys and girls, anyway. Please kindly make your way to the holding cells." The security footage showed countless zombies, at least a hundred, moving through the hallways to get to the source of the sound. Hayley kept talking, eventually getting bored with meaningless phrases and moving on to sing old Paramore songs. Once the majority of zombies were inside the confines of the holding cells, she pressed a big red button on the control panel and locked them down, the metal clanging shut. 

She turned to the group. "Okay, ready? There's always places outside the range of the cameras, so stay alert. And make it back, guys."

Josh stepped out first, his boots squeaking on the tiled floors. He was _going_ to come back, once he got Tyler.


End file.
